TALLIL, Iraq, March 28 (UPI) -- Australian Army officials in southern Iraq say their training course has graduated the 30,000th new Iraq soldier.
The Australian mentor program is a coalition forces-wide initiative to train new Iraqi soldiers to give the county a needed stability and enable it to defend itself from insurgent forces.
"We are leading up to their transition to self reliance," Sgt. Lee Vermeer, one of the Australian Army training team nine, said in a statement. "That way when we pull out they can actually continue with the training."
Australian troops, based at Camp Ur near Tallil, Iraq are working as part of the Overwatch Battle Group West 4. Officials say the unit is preparing to leave Iraq's Al Muthanna and Dhi Qar provinces, and despite the threats that remain there are many signs of encouragement from Iraqi forces.
"In the three years since Australia's involvement here we've seen quite an amazing change in the security environment," said Lt. Col. Chris Websdane, Overwatch Battle Group West 4 commanding officer.
